Two New ‘Halloween’ Movies Are On The Way, David Gordon Green and Jamie Lee Curtis To Return
Following the highly successful canonical sequel/reboot of John Carpenter’s horror classic Halloween last year, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum has announced plans to release two more movies, per Twitter.
The first film is called Halloween Kills, and it’s slated for an October 2020 release. Writer-director David Gordon Green, co-writer Danny McBride and star Jamie Lee Curtis are all returning to Haddonfield for the sequels, while Carpenter will once again serve as an executive producer.
The second film is called Halloween Ends, and it’s scheduled for release the following year. Judging by the film’s title, it seems this sequel will mark the final showdown between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode (played by Curtis). However, as horror films have shown us time and time again, there’s always room for more sequels, even when the story seems complete and ends on a high note.
Any announcements about finality when it comes to this particular franchise should be with a pinch of salt. Halloween is a very profitable franchise, and it’s a horror tradition for slasher franchises to continue long after their alleged final outings.
Last year’s movie ended on an ambiguous note. While Laurie Strode got the better of her long-time masked adversary, the ending left room for the villain to return. However, the film would have been a perfect way to bring some closure to Laurie’s story, so it’ll be interesting to see how they proceed forward.
Additionally, Curtis also said on Twitter that 2018’s Halloween would be her last outing as the character who paved the way for the “Final Girl” trope in horror films. Therefore, these upcoming sequels must have enticed her in some way, as she seemed done with a series she’s been involved with for over 40 years.
"Same porch. Same clothes. Same issues. 40 years later. Headed back to Haddonfield one last time for Halloween. Release date 10/19/18." pic.twitter.com/IvptiZctyw
— Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) September 15, 2017
That said, the last film’s success and positive critical response likely informed her decision. Despite being billed as a conclusion to the 1978 original, it ended up reinvigorating the franchise and made it feel contemporary. On top of that, Curtis did tell Empire that she’d be interested in making more movies if Green returned to the director’s chair.
With Blumhouse announcing two movies, they’re clearly confident that the franchise will continue to perform impressively at the global box office. As Forbes notes, the studio is taking a calculated risk, which hasn’t always served franchises well in the past. But given that this series is still going strong after 40 years, their fan base is clearly there.
